Tag: judgment day

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

That’s harsh

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Jens Aber on Unsplash

Even though I’ve read through the bible many times, I can’t help but pause when I get to those instructions to wipe out whole communities of people.

“Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him” (Numbers 31:17).

Here it’s the Midianites, who had seduced God’s people into idolatry. But there are plenty of other battles where Israel’s enemies are to be obliterated.

That’s harsh, isn’t it? Very harsh for anyone who prefers a God who is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. How could that God demand or allow such cruelty?

In worship, the church confesses that the Lord will come again to judge the living and the dead. What do you think that day will be like? Do you want him to condemn the unfaithful? Do you trust God to do this justly and righteously?

We never hesitate to pray, “Come, Lord Jesus.” We look forward to the Lord dealing with evil in the world. But do we understand all that entails? Because sin is so pervasive, nothing should survive that judgment. Yet because of Christ through trust in him, we will, since he was condemned and punished on the cross in our place.

All that nasty stuff throughout the Old Testament? That just a taste of what judgment day will be like. Yeah, it’s gonna be harsh.

Posted in faith

Does anyone really worry about the end times anymore?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I seem to remember past decades when the idea of the end times and the second coming of Christ was a big deal. In the 1980s, it seems like everyone was reading The Late Great Planet Earth and Left Behind. The creative blend of current events and biblical prophecy made you feel like judgment day was just around the corner. At the very least the world would come to an end before the Y2K turn of the century.

That was then. Thirty years ago. Is anyone worried about the end of the world anymore?

It occasionally comes up in Christian conversation. But I hear more talk about AI, climate change, immigration, gender identity, social media, and the next iPhone. Our big concerns are homeowners insurance, the price of gasoline, electric vehicles, identity theft, recalled bacteria-contaminated food, and the upcoming elections. In other words, we know Jesus is coming again, but we’ve got all this other stuff on the front burner.

So if your approach to witnessing is warning someone about eternal damnation, your words will most likely fall on deaf ears. It’s hard to get exited (or terrified) about eternity when some stranger is using your credit card, your insurance company has cancelled your homeowner’s policy, a roofing nail means you have another flat tire to fix, and one of the kids is sick (again).

Maybe your best witness is to just be there. Be there today. Be there now. Send the message that we’re not alone and we’ve got help for today, not just post-mortem. A little personal mercy, kindness, and grace goes a long way towards showing people that this Jesus-stuff is real. And if it’s real today, if it’s real now, it’ll be real later on, too, like when Jesus returns.